From the residents who commute back and forth to and from both communities to Larimer County land to a fancy new Interstate 25 interchange, they share a lot.

And, if all goes as planned for Windsor officials, they could be adding “brew culture” to that list.

Stacy Johnson, Windsor economic development manager, said she’s been working to attract startup microbreweries to Windsor off and on for the last year.

“We have limited access to attracting national chain-type restaurants and businesses, so to get homegrown microbreweries and add on a service to the community would be a nice addition to Windsor,” Johnson said, adding the town is interested in encouraging the entrepreneurial spirit that revolves around startup microbreweries.

“I think it’s a good fit,” Johnson said. “I think people like enjoying the unique opportunities we offer in Windsor, and when you have a microbrewery, you have that way of being unique in the way you brew, the flavors you create ...

“If you look at C.B. & Potts or Odell’s, they have this great local spirit and a great interest in giving back to the community,” she added. “We just embrace that here in Windsor, and we would like to see that here.”

To start attracting breweries, Johnson said she’s attended an economic development conference on microbreweries. She said she has also been talking to a contractor at a Fort Collins construction company who works with a local team of designers and real estate professionals to help new breweries open their doors and more established ones expand.

While there are currently no breweries in Windsor town limits, High Hops Brewery, located just west of town in The Windsor Gardener, has been serving up beer to the locals for more than six months. In 2007, The Windsor Gardener, which has been open since 2000, opened its brew shop where they still sell homebrewing and wine-making equipment.

The Gardener also is home to one of Colorado’s first hop farms and the nation’s largest selection of hop plants for sale, according to garden center and High Hops owner Dr. Pat Weakland.

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Weakland, a dentist in town who owns the brewery and garden center with his wife, Amanda, said the reception to High Hops from Windsor residents has been great, and they’ve grown from having six brews to now having 14 taps at High Hops.

“We’ve been here 61/2 months now, and we’ve seen just steady growth. We’re just getting ready to start bottling and getting into liquor stores and restaurants with our beer,” Weakland said.

For Weakland, High Hops is a family affair. Besides owning it with his wife, Weakland’s son Zach is the head brewer, and their daughter is planning to help out this summer. Weakland has been running his dental practice and raising his family in Windsor for the past 24 years.

“There is a lot of things for people to do (in Windsor), but there’s a lot of competition between Loveland and Fort Collins and Greeley,” he said. “So instead of having to drive outside of town they can just come here and see something unique. As far as I know, there’s no other brewery that has a hop field next to the tasting room that you can see with a mountain view like that.”

Weakland also said High Hops has live music Fridays and Saturdays, not only giving people great local beers but also giving them something to do.

On the town attracting other breweries, Weakland said he admires what they’re trying to accomplish, but he is unsure about having more brewers in Windsor especially since — while the town’s reception to High Hops was great — he did have to “jump a few hurdles” in order to open.

“Another brewer would probably be fine in town, but as far as bringing more than one to town, I think that it would kind of take away a lot of the uniqueness of a brewery that’s here,” Weakland said.

“And for me to say I don’t want any other competition, yeah, I’m going to say that and be selfish because it’s a business,” he laughed.

Toni Patrick, who was enjoying a flight of High Hops beers on Monday afternoon, said she thinks adding more breweries to town is a great idea. Patrick, who manages The Tavern in Greeley, said she was at High Hops to invite them to do a tap takeover with The Tavern.

“It’s just fun watching these people grow and branch out,” Patrick said of the microbrewery industry. “The more local we can be the better. I think it’s an awesome idea.”

While Stacy Johnson said she’s working on attracting breweries, no known microbreweries are set to open in Windsor yet.

“People in the community are behind it, so it’s kind of no-brainer,” Johnson said, adding the idea flourished when Windsor residents approached her about it. “Obviously the industry is growing, and we would like to take part in that and nurture those startups. We don’t have a formalized program, but it’s something we’re very interested in.”